Specific Commitments From the City on Bike Safety

As part of today’s big announcement on bike safety improvements, the City is committing to undertaking the following actions. From the City’s press release:

Bicycle Infrastructure Improvements

• Over the next three years DOT will install 200 miles of bicycle facilities with targets of 5 miles of Class I separated paths, 150 miles of Class II striped lanes, and 45 miles of Class III signed routes. DPR will also add 40 miles of Greenways in City parks over the next four years.
• Accelerate the placement of outside bicycle parking racks citywide.
• Begin construction of mountain bike trails in the South Park section of Fresh Kills, Staten Island. Complete construction of mountain bike trails in Highland Park and Cunningham Park in Queens.

Motorist and Bicyclist Awareness

• Provide materials on bicycle awareness to new driver education and remedial traffic school programs.
• Introduce programs to supply free bicycle helmets and instruction to all interested bicyclists in New York City.
• Work with associations of bicycle riders, including delivery and messenger services, to improve bicycle safety among workers.

Investigation and Enforcement

• Train more DOT accident investigation staff to ensure that all transportation fatalities are investigated in a timely manner.
• Increase enforcement of laws against motorists who park or drive in a bicycle lane, and enforce traffic control obedience among motorists and bicyclists.

Legislation

• Support state legislation requiring large vehicles to be equipped with cross over mirrors. These mirrors, commonly seen on school buses, increase a vehicle operator’s ability to see in front of the vehicle.
• Support legislation to increase the fine for motor vehicles that park in bicycle lanes within city parks.
• Explore the utility of legislation as a means to increase helmet use.

Improved Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting of Bicyclist Injuries

• Train health care providers to better document contributing factors in medical records.
• Add a question on bicycle use to DOHMH’s annual population-based telephone survey of adults to better track the bicycling population and monitor trends.
• Reconcile bicyclist death information between DOT’s (Fatality Database), NYPD (Accident Investigation Squad) and DOHMH’s (Vital Records Death Certification) quarterly to better trackthe number of bicyclist fatalities.